The NDA government’s reported move to appoint former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam as the Governor of Kerala has not gone down well with a section of the legal fraternity.

All India Bar Association (AIBA) chairman Adish C Aggarwala Sunday said the government’s move was ill advised and unethical, considering that when the BJP was in Opposition, it had repeatedly opposed post-retirement jobs for members of higher judiciary.
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How can a former CJI be appointed Governor? What kind of a signal is the government trying to send? The BJP, when it was in Opposition, had repeatedly said it was opposed to post-retirement jobs for retired judges. What has changed now?” Aggarwala said.

He also said by planning to appoint former Supreme Court chief justice like Justice Sathasivam as Governor, the government was actually contracting the pool for the yet-to-be-constituted Lokpal as none of the former CJIs would be available for appointment as outgoing CJI R M Lodha has already said he is not interested. “Former CJI Sathasivam is a candidate for the post of Lokpal and by deciding to appoint him as Governor the Central government is preventing his appointment to that important post. The first Lokpal should be a former CJI whereas anyone can be appointed Governor. This is uncalled for,” Aggarwala said.

He also said the AIBA would write to President Pranab Mukherjee to oppose the appointment of Justice Sathasivam as Governor and request him to ask the government to constitute Lokpal at the earliest.

Kerala Congress president V M Sudheeran too came out against the appointment of Sathasivam as the Kerala Governor. Sudheeran said, “Sathasivam had been the Chief Justice of India. It was not proper to appoint a former CJI as Governor. It is the CJI who administers the oath of office to the President. It is not right that a person from such an office becomes a Governor under the post of the President. Everyone should think whether appointing a former CJI as Governor is right.”

BANGALORE: On the eve of the swearing-in of new Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, CM Siddaramaiah Sunday expressed unhappiness over the Narendra Modi government not consulting him about his appointment to the state. “… it is customary that the Chief Minister is consulted before appointing the new Governor; they have done this (appointment) without consulting me,” he told reporters here.
Vala, 76, a former Gujarat Assembly Speaker who was considered a Modi loyalist, is set to take the oath for the Governor’s post Monday.